Dr. Nicholas LaRusso MD

His research interest is gastroenterology, especially hepatic epithelial cell function and dysfunction, and internal medicine. Prof. LaRusso is director of the Center for Innovation at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and a Distinguished Investigator of the Mayo Foundation. The Mayo Clinic is one of the most leading clinics worldwide and is renowned for its innovation on and quality of healthcare. Prior to becoming Director of Innovation in 2008, Prof. LaRusso held the following positions at Mayo Clinic: 

• Vice Chair for Research of the Department of Medicine;
• Chair of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology;
• Chair of the Department of Medicine. 

Prof. LaRusso received an undergraduate degree (magna cum laude) from Boston College, an M.D. degree from New York Medical College, and training in internal medicine and gastroenterology at Mayo Clinic including an NIH fellowship in the laboratory of Alan Hofmann. Before assuming a faculty position at Mayo in 1977, he was a guest investigator at the Rockefeller University in the laboratory of the Nobel Prize laureate, Christian de Duve.

The awards Prof. LaRusso received:

• NIH MERIT Award;
• Distinguished Achievement Awards from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA);
• Distinguished Achievement Awards from the American Association for the Study of Liver
• Diseases (AASLD);
• Distinguished Mentor award from the AGA.

In addition to being the Director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, Prof. LaRusso is currently the Principle Investigator of two RO1’s and the NIH Mayo Center for Cell Signaling in Gastroenterology. He is also currently the Chair of the AGA Foundation.